Deadlift - not sure what to do here. All of these felt easy. 210 went up like it was nothing, and they were easier rep after rep. But after I finished my shoulder/neck locked up, I've got a big knot near my scapula, and I can't turn my head to the right. Basically, last week and the week before but worse. That's with a packed neck, eyes down, scapula locked back and down, etc. No problems with form, but a problem with my shoulder.

I pulled 185 for a single on the trap bar during my client's workout after and it was easy, no pain in the shoulder. So it might be the hand/bar position.

Leg Curl - not hard, but good.

Calf Raises - what the heck, 150.

Wall Sit - these were hard today.

BPA - to try and loosen up my shoulder. Didn't work. Neither did some foam rolling and tennis ball rolling.

So what do I do here? Not sure yet. Next week is my last deadlift week. I may skip it, I may do it with a different grip (I normally do double-overhand). If I do it, it'll be my last week until my shoulder is sorted out - so I might keep pulling singles until I get a good single heavy one and then stop.

AM: MMA class. Rolled with Little K~, Kid K~, and J~. Worked a new arm bar setup, which was interesting since it doesn't look like it should work right up until the guy taps. Shoulder was tight but I moved well.

***

Back hurt later. I think from a chest compression/crank I was stuck in.

Back still hurts; I was supposed to lift for another week, then a week off, then go for maxes. I'll just take this week off, cutting the cycle a week short, and go for maxes next week. Bulling through is stupid.

AM: MMA class. Warmup up with mobility drills and 200 rope skips - easy, but about 100 too many for my knees right now. Next time less. Worked with new guy B~ and both LK and KK. Learned a new setup for an armbar (that leads easily to a triangle) and a new setup for a triangle (which solves a whole I issue I had with a specific position). I wish I'd known this stuff all along. I literally learned it and applied it rolling minutes later.

I also got to roll with my coach, who'd basically let me try to work my balance and weight distribution, and then snagged things that looked exposed when he got bored. Lots of fun. Been a while since we rolled.

Today was supposed to be 1-rep max day on the press, but I'm clearly coming down with something. I feel weak and tired. Putting a barbell over your head when you feel weak and tired is stupid. I'll do it later in the week when I feel better.

Basically my stomach is playing hell with me, but I was okay enough to train and did so.

Press - 1 x 115 ties a long-ago set PR, and 11 x 85 is a 3-rep PR for 85. 125 went up halfway and died, which isn't a surprise because I'm weak at the bottom, not the midpoint or top.

Chins - 10 is a recent PR, although my all-time best is 17 reps. I have done any in months and these felt okay.

Pulldowns - for extra work. Neutral Grip today.

Curls/Pushdowns - because my arms feel better after these than before these.

Raises - same, make my shoulders feel good.

BPAs - because it's 100 every time I push or pull, so, another 100.

***

I'm very happy because I hit my goal for the cycle. Not my pipe-dream 125, but my "match 115" goal. Nice. Not bad with a training max of 105 and never touching more than 95 (and that only once). My shoulders feel better now than when I started.

My right shoulder popped last night, and it feels exactly like it has in the past post-dislocation. So I think I need to just rest it and avoid heavy anything. Oh well, at least it happened post-PR and not pre-PR.

Hurrah for ART. My friend J-L squeezed me in for an appointment and worked on my shoulder, pec, lat, and everything around my scapula. My whole shoulder was basically out of position. I went from "I can't lift my arm without pain, and not at all past the shoulderline" to "full mobility with mild pain" in under 15 minutes and lost a lot of related issues in 15 more.

My shoulder and lat felt bad for about an hour after that - tired and sore and weak and tight. But hours later they felt significantly better. My shoulder is tired and I'm going to go easy on it at MMA but it's working.